What the Facebook Giraffe Riddle Taught Me About Social Media

Last night, I joined the growing number of Facebook users who have changed their profile photo to a giraffe. No, I didn’t join a movement to save the giraffe. The truth is that I incorrectly answered a silly riddle in response to a friend’s post. It looked like this:

[Un-spoiler alert: It's safe to keep reading, I'm not giving away the answer here! If you're dying to know, visit our Facebook page.]

Despite my long history as an active Facebook user, this was literally the first time I ever participated in a chainriddle.

So, why did I respond to this one?

The person who posted the question isn’t someone who I interact with frequently on Facebook – one of those outer circle friends who remains on my friend list because they don’t post anything offensive. It’s not someone who I feel obliged to interact with (let’s admit it, we don’t always like everything that we “like,” do we?). Yet, I confidently, even eagerly, responded to his question.

I was a bit surprised that I got the answer wrong, but I dutifully changed my photo to a giraffe. And then I reposted the riddle. If I’m a giraffe, then everyone should be a giraffe!

This morning, my inbox was jammed with replies from friends who had responded to my question. It was an even mix of close friends, family members, and those outer circlers – with a 50/50 mix of right and wrong responses.

To be honest, I was surprised to see how many people responded to the chainriddle and it got me thinking.

Why does the Facebook giraffe riddle provoke a response and how can you make it work for your brand?

Because I work in online marketing, I found myself wondering if we could apply some of the learnings from the giraffe riddle to our client’s social media campaigns. To answer this, I contemplated the rationale for participation in the giraffe riddle.

Let’s explore some of my theories:

1. We are curious. I believe curiosity was a major force behind participation in the giraffe riddle. While I thought I had the answer right, it seemed too easy, so I was curious what the catch was. Most of my friends told me the same thing.
2. It’s fun. I wasn’t motivated by the reward and I doubt my friends were either (did anyone care about the virtual pat on the back they got for answering correctly?). I was motivated by the activity itself. This concept is free, fun, silly, and it makes you smile.
3. Low risk. I didn’t care if I was right or wrong because there weren’t any real consequences. If there was money on this question, I probably wouldn’t have answered. I didn’t have to buy anything, sign up for a newsletter, or like a company’s business page to participate.
4. No long term commitment. According to the rules, the picture only has to stay up for 3 days. It’s true that no one is forcing you to put up the picture, but I believe in honour, even on the internet!!

And here’s something else that I’m willing to admit, even if no one else is ready to: when I posted that giraffe photo, it made me feel good. It made me feel like I was part of a group of curious people who aren’t ashamed to say, ‘we got it wrong!’ It’s almost like I was joining a club. The inner circle of giraffes.

This riddle has reinforced a few social bonds and given me a chance to catch up with some friends who I had been out of touch with. This is a feel good story and there is nothing wrong with that.

If social media can reinforce bonds and relationships, shouldn’t you be using social media to strengthen relationships with your customers?